A video promoting the Department of English was in production last spring. The video is the first of its kind for our department and features testimonies from several undergraduate students who are currently majoring in English and studying in the department. Before the video’s production last spring, I sat down with Peyton Moss, Everett Secor, Leslie Leonard, Elizabeth Kierman, and Katherine Grandy to discuss what we can expect from the video. View the video here or on the Department of […]
Category: The Scarlet Newsletter
Dr. Tricia McElroy: Associate Dean of Humanities
Dr. Tricia McElroy is Associate Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences. English student Meegan Gildehaus interviewed the newly appointed Associate Dean to learn about her journey to this position and plans for the future. I met Dr. McElroy in an office heavily decorated with drawings and photos of a smiling little girl. There is a large window overlooking a courtyard that is attractive when there is no construction. Now it resembles more of […]
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Jazz, Poetry, and Progress with Dr. Hank Lazer
Dr. Hank Lazer was an administrator here at The University of Alabama until his retirement on the first of January, 2014. Before retiring he had worked as a professor and in various departments of the administration since 1977, a total of 37 years. He is a published poet, currently with eighteen books of poetry, and he often travels around the country and to other countries performing live readings. An interesting aspect of this performance, which he began factoring into his […]
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Kevin Waltman: Composition Writing Fair
Kevin Waltman is an Instructor of English at The University of Alabama. He lives in Coker with his wife, Jessica. They have a daughter named Calla, and a dog named Henry. He is the author of several young adult novels, most recently Next in 2013, with its sequel Slump due to appear in late 2014. He has published short fiction with The Emerson Review and others. He heads the writing fair every year, with the help of the English 102 […]
Dr. Karen Gardiner: Themed English 102
Three years ago, Dr. Karen Hollingsworth Gardiner, the Director of The First-Year Writing Program at UA, created themed 102 English classes. Dr. Gardiner has contributed much of her time to UA’s First Year Writing Program and to creating enjoyable and enriching experience for freshmen. Her efforts earned her The University of Alabama’s Outstanding Professional Award in May of 2012. How did you come up with the idea of themed 102 English Classes? The College of Arts and Sciences had developed […]
Jessica Hollander: English Instructor
Author of In These Times the Home Is a Tired Place and winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction, Jessica Hollander grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and received her BA from the University of Michigan. She holds an MFA from The University of Alabama. Her stories have appeared in over fifty journals, including The Cincinnati Review, The Journal, Quarterly West, and Web Conjunctions, and she will be anthologized in The Lineup: 25 Provocative Women Writers. She […]
Jennie Gropp Hess: Poet, Teacher, Travel Enthusiast
Jennie Gropp Hess, the former editor of Black Warrior Review, joined The Georgia Review staff as managing editor in the summer of 2012. At The Georgia Review she oversees production of the journal and participates in editorial planning and decision-making. She holds an MFA in creative writing from The University of Alabama and a BA in English literature and creative writing from the University of Montana. Her work has led her to extensive travel abroad. Good afternoon, thanks for taking the time to answer my […]
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Remembering Professor Carolyn Handa
This memorial was written with the idea of fusion—something Carolyn not only wrote about in her scholarly work, but was also present in her eclectic personality. We’ve fused Carolyn’s words with her students’ and her colleague’s in an attempt to capture the many facets of her personality as both mentor and friend: funny, brilliant, and deeply caring. Rather than represent one voice, this memorial represents the many voices of those who loved and will miss her. [Carolyn]“Truthfully, the concept of […]
Dr. Lauren Cardon: Clinical Professor
It’s always refreshing to meet someone who genuinely cares about his or her profession. In the field of education, it is especially reassuring to meet a teacher who genuinely cares deeply about the material being taught and the students that the material is being taught to. The teachers that think about affecting people in a positive way outside the walls of the classroom are the teachers who truly shape the future. We are lucky here at the University of Alabama […]
Brandi Hodo: A Course in Comic Books
Born in Tuscaloosa, English Instructor Ms. Brandi Hodo, sheds some light on one of the more unique courses that the Department of English offers. An advanced composition course, EN 103 focused around the study of comic books through the analysis of their heroes and villains—ranging from X-Men to Captain America. The classic representation of good versus evil, after all, is always a relevant concept to understand. Did you always want to be a professor? Or were you ever focused on […]